Cisco vs Google Interview Questions
Cisco lists 87 LeetCode interview questions while Google lists 2,305. They share 82 problems — 94% of Cisco's bank and 4% of Google's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 5 Cisco-only and 2,223 Google-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 82 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Cisco and Google.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Cisco-specific problems like Lucky Numbers in a Matrix, Number of Valid Words in a Sentence, Find Third Transaction and Google-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Google skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
82 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Cisco and Google.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| House Robber | Medium |
| Predict the Winner | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
| Snakes and Ladders | Medium |
| Maximum Difference Between Increasing Elements | Easy |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Implement Router | Medium |
| Word Search II | Hard |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Find the Largest Area of Square Inside Two Rectangles | Medium |
| Check if Binary String Has at Most One Segment of Ones | Easy |
| Sum of k-Mirror Numbers | Hard |
| Minimum Cost to Make Array Equal | Hard |
| Max Points on a Line | Hard |
| Stone Game | Medium |
| Happy Number | Easy |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Cherry Pickup | Hard |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Linked List Cycle | Easy |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Remove Boxes | Hard |
| Decode String | Medium |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
Showing top 30 of 82 shared problems.
Unique to Cisco (5)
Problems in Cisco's list that do not appear at Google.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Lucky Numbers in a Matrix | Easy |
| Number of Valid Words in a Sentence | Easy |
| Find Third Transaction | Medium |
| Number of Equal Count Substrings | Medium |
| Count of Integers | Hard |
Unique to Google (2,223)
Problems in Google's list that do not appear at Cisco.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Create Hello World Function | Easy |
| Merge Strings Alternately | Easy |
| Container With Most Water | Medium |
| Recyclable and Low Fat Products | Easy |
| Majority Element | Easy |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Next Permutation | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Cisco and Google share?
Cisco and Google share 82 LeetCode interview questions. 5 problems appear only in Cisco's list and 2223 appear only in Google's list.
What topics overlap most between Cisco and Google?
The most common shared topics between Cisco and Google are Array (20 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (9 shared questions), Math (8 shared questions), String (7 shared questions), Hash Table (7 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Cisco or Google?
Cisco has 24 Easy, 50 Medium, and 13 Hard questions. Google has 601 Easy, 1205 Medium, and 499 Hard questions. Google has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Cisco and Google?
Start with the 82 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 5 Cisco-specific and 20 Google-specific questions to round out your prep.